Summers Solicitors LLP is a well known West End commercial law practice advising on both contentious and non contentious matters.

We are highly responsive to our clients needs and combine traditional legal values with a vigorous modern business approach. We work to the highest standards to provide the speed of response, advice, technical expertise, and value for money that we would expect to receive ourselves.

Our clients require a keen sense of business awareness. We provide a comprehensive service within all our areas of expertise advising fully on the legal issues but always focusing on the commercial practicalities of each issue.

Whether it is starting your business or moving it to
new premises, letting your premises, or taking a lease,

embarking on litigation or purchasing and arranging finance for a multi-tenanted property, extending your lease, or joining with others in buying its freehold, we provide the same dedicated service to ensure your requirements are met.

Summers Solicitors LLP is an accredited member of the Conveyancing Quality Scheme

We advise clients, whether large, small or of medium size, on a wide range of corporate and
commercial legal issues relating to their businesses both in relation to transactions and day to day
problems which can arise. Our clients include businesses in many diverse sectors including
manufacturing, distribution, property, corporate fin ance, in surance, training and software
development. We also act for firms or individual partners in connection with their professional
practices.

We have extensive experience both of working as part of international teams comprising a
client's legal advisers from several countries, and of assembling and co-ordinating such teams for
clients who require the firm to act as lead adviser. In doing so, the firm aims to ensure that the
client has access to and the benefit of appropriate legal advice from lawyers in the relevant
jurisdictions.

We advise and handle a broad range of disputes for our client's both in the High Court and County Court. We are recognised for our expertise in property related matters. We concentrate on the immediate problem and our client’s ultimate objectives. Risk analysis and costing is of particular importance in litigation, and it is an issue we focus on from the outset.

We always advise on Alternative Dispute Resolution procedures and have considerable expertise in the conduct of Mediation. Where appropriate we will consider with you the use of After the Event Insurance.

We advise on dilapidation claims and the enforcement of Adjudication Awards in the Technology and Construction Court.

We advise clients on all matters relating to the preparation of their wills, the implementation of any form of Trust, tax planning, and all matters relating to obtaining probate and administering a deceased estate.

Collection of debt can be fundamental to a company’s financial welfare especially in today’s volatile climate. We act for individuals and companies and have a sophisticated case management system for companies who have a large number of debt collection cases.

We have particular expertise in this highly technical area and have acted for clients in many leasehold extension/collective enfranchisement claims for properties situated within and outside the central london area. We have advised in contested cases and helped to establish important new principles as to the appropriate measurements of a freehold building (see Indiana Investments Limited –v- Taylor 2004 50 EG 86).

We also advise on Right to Manage claims. We are listed on the LEASE website as having expertise in enfranchisement work.
We have also acted for clients making claims under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967(claims for the freehold of a house) and in disputes under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (where a landlord must offer to sell to the tenants on disposal)

We approach each transaction in a rigorously commercial manner. We have the experience and resources to manage complex deals for major corporations, as well as every day transactions for smaller businesses. When you are planning a new property project, talk to us at an early stage.

Acting for clients involved in the investment, re-development and owner occupation of property, we work to achieve the best result, not just simply go through the legal procedures. By getting to know about your business, and commercial objectives we can provide you with the business solutions you require.

Our work includes:

The acquisitions and disposal of land and property.

The granting/taking of leases.

All landlord and tenant matters.

The extending/terminating and renewal of leases.

Secured lending.

The property aspects of the company’s sale/acquisition including funding.

The property aspects of refinancing of individual properties or portfolios.

We advise developers on a wide range of development work for residential, commercial and mixed use land. We advise on the initial structure of the development company through to acquiring the land and advising on plot sales.

We advise clients who are buying and selling their family home, a second or holiday home. Many of our clients are established commercial clients and people who live and work in the West End and City and others are solicitors whose own firms do not have residential/conveyancing expertise or people working and living abroad. Wherever you are located, whether in the UK or abroad, we can help.

Our clients expect, and we provide, a personal and comprehensive service. We will answer your questions clearly and provide you with regular progress reports so that you know how your transaction is progressing at all times.

John Summers:
John was a partner for some 10 years at City firm DJ Freeman. He founded Summers Solicitors LLP in 1995. John is unusual as a central london lawyer in the sheer breadth of his experience which enables him to offer advice in differing areas of his expertise. He advises on all aspects of commercial property, and on all aspects of landlord and tenant work. He advises on the purchase and leasing of property, and on refinancing arrangements.
He also has an extensive litigation practice. He advises clients on claims in both the High Court (including the Technology and Construction Court), the County Court, and in the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. John is a keen supporter of the mediation process and has been involved in a number of mediations.

He has particular expertise in a wide variety of property related disputes.
John is also an expert in the area of collective enfranchisement and lease extensions.
He has advised clients in numerous claims since the 1993 legislation came into force. He has particular expertise in dealing with claims against central london estate landlords, where he is familiar with their requirements, and the surveyors and lawyers that they employ, and the basis on which they operate. He is always able to advise on suitable surveyors to assist in valuations.

John is a member of The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners.

Harold Shupak:
Harold Shupak joined Summers Solicitors LLP in 2011 after having practised for many years in the City of London. He is an international business lawyer, focussing on corporate, employment and litigation cases. His corporate practice encompasses both transactional work, such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and reorganisations and advice on commercial contracts and intellectual property.

In the field of employment law he advises both employers and employees, and has acted for many executives in the financial services sector. His litigation practice covers contractual claims, shareholder disputes and employment and intellectual property litigation.
He has advised clients in complex mediations. Much of his work has an international element, both in relation to advisory work and litigation, and he is well used to advising either UK or foreign businesses on matters of English Law in connection with cross-border transactions or disputes. Harold has lectured on corporate and commercial law topics throughout the world at conferences of the International Bar Association, of whose Committee on International Sales and Related Commercial Transactions he served as Co-Chair for four years, having previously been Chair of its Sub-Committee on Standard Terms and Conditions of Sale. As well as being a member of the International Bar Association for over 30 years, he is a longstanding member of the Society for Computers and Law.

Martin Frankum:
Martin has been with the firm since 1997 and became a partner in May 1999. Martin has a wealth of experience advising clients on all residential and commercial property issues, company and commercial matters and all aspects of litigation.
Martin has a diverse range of clients from first time buyers of residential property through to plc companies, solicitors and accountants, small businesses, recruitment consultants and high net worth individuals.

Stephen Koehne:
Stephen was for many years a real estate partner at D.J. Freeman, and for
some nine years was a real estate partner at City firm Stephenson Harwood.
He specialises in real estate investment and development, with extensive
experience of acting for both UK and overseas properties. He also acts for
developers on large development schemes from their initial involvement, and
in the letting and sale, acting for both landlords and tenants for all types
of commercial premises. He brings in depth experience to the firm in all
these areas.

Brian Fraiman:
Brian joined Summers Solicitors LLP in 2006 after many years at Fremont & Co, a well established West End practice which he founded and where he was senior partner. He provides advice on all private client matters including the preparation of wills, the administration of estates and all relevant tax issues and the establishment of trusts. He also has a wealth of experience in property and commercial matters including Landlord & Tenant issues.

Philip Hooley:
Philip Hooley is a highly experienced commercial dispute lawyer who has practiced at an impressive set of firms over the course of his career, including top tier international firms including Herbert Smith (now Herbert Smith Freehills) and Clyde and Co. Philip advises on a wide range of commercial disputes covering financial services and regulatory matters, insolvency, professional negligence, insurance/re-insurance, complex IT and energy projects and international and jurisdictional disputes.

Philip has been involved in many significant cases including:-

BCCI for Ernst & Young;

Collapse of two Australian State Banks for KPMG and PWC

Sumitomo for The London Metal Exchange

Lord Napier ~v~ RF Kershaw (1993) - a leading case on subrogation for 24 leading re-insurance syndicates and companies;

In the IT sector, Philip represents companies ranging from the largest IT providers through to mainstream players and start-ups involved in some of the latest technology developments including AI, Blockchain, AR and VR.

Our expertise in the field includes advising and representing either employers or employees. We have experience of acting on employment matters for industrial, commercial and professional clients, and for clients in the media and financial services sectors. We also provide English legal advice on employment aspects of mergers and acq uisitions.

Sometimes, when clients instruct us in relation to matters affecting their working lives, it turns out that they are not "employees" as such, but may be self-employed independent contractors or members of a limited liability partnership. We have experience of advising clients in such situations.

Our work in the employment field covers:

Drafting and negotiation of Employment Contracts

Drafting of Staff Handbooks and ancillary documentation

Drafting and negotiation of Compromise Agreements

Redundancies

Consultation requirements in connection with:

Redundancies;

Mergers and Acquisitions (where required by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006)

Disciplinary procedures

Grievances

Unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal

Discrimination

Human rights

Maternity and parental leave matters

Working Time Regulations

Mediation in relation to employment disputes

Employment Tribunal and High Court proceedings relating to employment disputes

Location:
We occupy a Georgian building in the heart of London's West End. Welbeck
Street runs north from Wigmore Street. The nearest underground station is
Bond Street (Central and Jubilee lines). There are many parking meters in
and around Welbeck Street; the nearest car park is in Cavendish Square.

The contents of this site are for general information purposes only, and.au not constitute or represent legal advice or advice of any sort. They should not be regarded as legal advice or advice of any sort.

The placing of information on this site and the accessing of this site does not and shall not give rise to any solicitor/client relationship, lawyer/client relationship or attorney/client relationship between Summers Solicitors LLP and anyone accessing or viewing the site. Neither will any such relationship be formed or arise merely by the act of anyone e-mailing the firm using the e- mail facility on this site.

We use the word "Partner" to refer to a member of Summers Solicitors LLP (which is a limited liability partnership) or an employee or consultant who is a lawyer with equivalent standing and qualifications.

All information appearing on this site was believed to be true and correct at the date upon which it was placed on the site. Summers Solicitors LLP does not represent that such information is up to date at the time at which a user accesses the site.

The availability and reliability of access to the internet can depend upon factors beyond our control, such as, for example (but without limitation) telecommunications services and equipment used. Accordingly, we do not represent or warrant that access to this website or any part of it will be available, complete, legible or uninterrupted, reliable or fault free, or that the site and its contents, as accessed or viewed by any user, will be in the form in which they were placed on the site, and we do not accept any liability for loss or damage caused in any such circumstances.

No one may establish any link to this site without the express prior consent of Summers Solicitors LLP.

We do not accept any responsibility for or in relation to any website linked from this website.

These conditions and all matters relating to this site and its contents shall be governed and interpreted by and in accordance with English Law.

Summers Solicitors LLP is a limited liability partnership incorporated in England & Wales under registered number OC324473. Its registered office is at 22 Welbeck Street London W1G 8EF.

A list of its members is open to inspection at the registered office.

It is a recognised body regulated under number 524233 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in accordance with the Solicitors Code of Conduct 2007, which is available at rules.sra.org.uk.

Our VAT Registration Number is GB 663095329.

Our aim is to provide a first class, helpful and efficient service. If you have any complaint, you should initially raise this with the fee earner concerned and then under our complaints procedure.

If we do not resolve any problem to your satisfaction, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman whose address is P.O. Box 15870, Birmingham B30 9EB, England, whose e-mail address is enguiries@legalombudsman.org.uk and whose telephone number is 0300 555 0333, or if you are calling from outside the UK, +441212453050. The Legal Ombudsman's website is at www.legalombudsman.org.uk. The Legal Ombudsman may be able to help you resolve your complaint. If you wish to refer a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, you must do so within six months of our final response to your complaint.

Summers Solicitors LLP is not authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, but we are able in certain circumstances to offer a limited range of investment services to clients because we are members of The Law Society of England and Wales. We can provide these investment services if they are an incidental part of the professional services which we have been engaged to provide. This is also the case where such investment services may be reasonably regarded as a necessary part of our legal services. If for any reason we are unable to resolve a problem with a client in relation to such investment services, the client may utilise the complaints and redress mechanisms provided through the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Complaints Service. For the avoidance of doubt please note that where in this paragraph we use the expressions "we are able" and "we can" we mean that we are permitted to do so under English law. Please also note that the above reference to "professional services" is a reference only to legal services.

Nothing that we say or do should be interpreted as advice to anyone on the investment merits of acquiring or disposing of particular investments or as an invitation or inducement to anybody to engage in investment activities. We do not act as brokers of investment transactions.

Summers Solicitors LLP is an accredited member of the Conveyancing Quality Scheme

Our policy is to keep strictly confidential all data supplied to the firm by those communicating with it via this website unless, and then only to the extent, permitted by the person supplying the information or as required by law or Solicitors Regulation Authority, which is the professional body which regulates the firm.

The firm collects the data which is supplied to it by those communicating with it via the website for the purpose of enabling the finn to respond to them, if requested to do so if and to the extent appropriate, and for the purpose of informing them about developments concerning the firm to the extent permitted by law or applicable professional regulations.

If anyone communicating with the firm via this website believes that any data held by the firm relating to them is incorrect or out of date, they are asked to inform the finn as soon as possible so that it may be corrected or updated.

The finn does not intend to transfer any ofthe data supplied to the firm via this website outside the European Economic Area except to the extent that this is permitted under the U.K. Data Protection Act 1998, and then only to the extent required by the above paragraphs.

Summers Solicitors LLP is the data controller of information supplied to it by those communicating via this website for the purposes ofthe U.K. Data Protection Act.